{"id":36564,"date":"2026-09-16T23:32:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T23:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=36564"},"modified":"2026-09-16T23:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T23:32:49","slug":"nasao-concludes-successful-95th-annual-convention-announces-newly-elected-board-of-directors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/nasao-concludes-successful-95th-annual-convention-announces-newly-elected-board-of-directors\/%20","title":{"rendered":"NASAO Concludes Successful 95th Annual Convention, Announces Newly Elected Board of Directors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASAO News Release<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Association of State Aviation Officials<\/a> (NASAO) concluded its 2026 Annual Convention and Trade Show in Grand Forks, North Dakota held Sept. 13 -16, 2026, drawing more than 340 attendees and representatives from 37 states, NASAO leadership called the event a resounding success.<\/p>\n\n\n

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2026 State Director Class Photo (Courtesy of Shahn Sederberg)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cNASAO\u2019s 95th annual meeting once again brought the nation’s state aviation leaders together to discuss critical policy issues as well as access information on new developments in airport infrastructure, workforce development, and emerging aeronautical technologies,\u201d said Greg Pecoraro, the association\u2019s president and CEO. \u201cIt also brought state officials together with their partners at the FAA to exchange ideas on solving common problems and identifying opportunities to improve processes and information sharing vital to the maintenance and improvement of America\u2019s airports.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a tremendous honor for North Dakota to host the 95th NASAO Annual Convention and Trade Show in Grand Forks,\u201d said Kyle Wanner, Executive Director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission. \u201cThe theme \u201850 States, One Sky\u2019 captured the spirit of the convention\u2014state aviation leaders coming together to share ideas, confront common challenges, and help shape the future of our national aviation system. We were proud to showcase North Dakota\u2019s aviation and UAS ecosystem and the remarkable partnerships that continue to move our industry forward. I am deeply grateful to our Aeronautics Commission staff, our local partners, and the NASAO team whose dedication and collaboration made this convention such a success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three-and-a-half day event featured trade show floor demonstrations and exhibits, keynote addresses from leadership coach Stephanie Goetz and BETA Technologies Head of Sales & Support Simon Newitt, as well as panel sessions, and networking opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2026-2027 BOARD OF DIRECTORS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASAO state members also elected the 2026-2027 NASAO Board of Directors. Frank Farmer, Bureau Chief for aeronautics at the Alabama Department of Transportation, began his tenure as NASAO Board Chair on Sept. 15. The NASAO Board of Directors is comprised of NASAO\u2019s Executive Committee and Regional Directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Farmer, Alabama Department of Transportation \u2013 Chair<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryan Budds, Michigan Department of Transportation \u2013 Vice Chair<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colette W. Edmisten, A.A.E., Georgia Department of Transportation \u2013 Treasurer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenji Sugahara, Oregon Department of Aviation – Secretary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clayton Stambaugh, Illinois Department of Transportation \u2013 Immediate Past Chair<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REGIONAL DIRECTORS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremy Borrell, Nebraska Department of Transportation \u2013 Central Region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Campbell, Virginia Department of Aviation \u2013 Eastern Region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryan Gaug, AICP, Minnesota Department of Transportation \u2013 Great Lakes Region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denise Garcia, Massachusetts Department of Transportation \u2013 New England Region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shawn Burke, Wyoming Department of Transportation \u2013 Northwest Mountain Region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Paul Saalwaechter, P.E., Tennessee Department of Transportation \u2013 Southern Region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessi Litz-Rowden, New Mexico Department of Transportation \u2013 Southwest Region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tarek Tabshouri, California Department of Transportation \u2013 Western-Pacific Region<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FUTURE CONVENTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2027 NASAO Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held Sept. 26-29 in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by Seattle, Washington in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NASAO News Release The National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) concluded its 2026 Annual Convention and Trade Show in Grand Forks, North Dakota held Sept. 13 -16, 2026, drawing more than 340 attendees and representatives from 37 states, NASAO leadership called the event a resounding success. \u201cNASAO\u2019s 95th annual meeting once again brought the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[115,90,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-news-release","category-north-dakota"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36566,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36564\/revisions\/36566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}